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Theistic Religion
The pantheon worshipped by most people is made up of 31 different gods, each fitting into a different aspect. The hierarchy of the gods is split into six different pillars of existence, each pillar containing five gods that embody its aspect, with one of those five being the basis of the pillar. The six gods that lead the six pillars take orders from Talos, the Allfather, the First, whichever name he wishes to use. Talos sits on his own in the pantheon, surrounded by the other pillars. Rather than worshipping a deity, one can choose to dedicate their worship to the aspect of a pillar. Doing this reveres all the deities within the pillar equally, but aren’t considered worshippers of these gods, instead choosing to live their life to be as close to that aspect as possible. Examples of followers of individual pillars are detailed later. Brief Description The history of the gods is a long, chaotic one. In the beginning there was the war against the Primordials, the gods’ masters and overlords. During the war, Talos, the first god created by the primordials, lead the rest of the gods from the front lines, but eventually many of the gods were killed, until a god known as the Artisan found out how to create more gods. Talos and the Artisan are the only two remaining gods from this era, and none know which god is the Artisan, but many theologians have theorised. When the faerie princes of the Feywild took up residence in Mundanus, the gods took to the Heavens, the location of the object that took up most of the primordials’ time: The Dice of Creation, a pair of dice that twist fate subtly to cause events but are seemingly incredibly addictive. And so, the gods set up the first Games of Sovereignty, wherein each god takes a portion of their power and puts it inside a champion to be born into the world as a demigod. The last one remaining is crowned the victor and the games begin again. Sometimes another round of the games is started before the end of the previous, often in a situation where the last handful of demigods settle down and refuse to fight each other, such as recently with the Lucaryn family. Some of the gods have attempted to find loopholes in these games, Juir having once given her power to an avatar of herself with much more power than her opponents, and as of then (roughly 400 BIC), this practice was banned from the games. Contact with the world in most circumstances while the games are underway is forbidden, due to Juir having frequent contact with her champion in the games of 350 IC. As of 700 IC, the splitting of power has also been banned as Dhaas created several dozen champions for himself by splitting his power. The most recent round of the Games of Sovereignty began in the year 727 IC, and so far, only a couple of the players are known. Below are a list of the deities and which pillar they belong to. Each pillar is formed of five gods, the first god listed overseeing and directing their respective pillar. Below each god is a list of their most common cleric domains to give some examples of the domains that their clerics would take. The Gods 'The Lone Pillar' No one truly worships the Lone Pillar, it is just a name for the space in the pantheon that Talos occupies. 'Talos, '''Father God of Law and Order, and Ruler of the Heavens Talos is the ruler of the gods, forming his own Pillar at the centre of the pantheon. As known by religious historians as ‘The First’, it is likely that Talos was the first god created by the Primordials to rule over the land for them as they played their Chaos Games. When Talos rose up with the rest of the gods, he lead from the front as a warrior, a light of hope for those beside him. He still rules the pantheon to this day, though some accounts reckon he rules with much more of an iron fist than he did previously. 'The Judicious Pillar' Followers of the Judicious Pillar strive to uphold the values of law and justice, but not obey the law blindly. If the law is morally wrong or unjust, it must be changed. Worshippers of this Pillar are encouraged not to make rash decisions and always research or hear out all sides of an argument. Patience is key. 'Druthor, God of Fate Druthor, the head of the Judicious Pillar and god of fate, Druthor is very important to most mortals, though they may not realise. Without fate, the world would be chaos as murder and death would run rampant. And so, Druthor attached mortal souls to protect them, given their susceptibility to the natural horrors of the world. However, some souls aren’t attached to fate and can really disrupt the Loom of Fate. Imagine a tapestry, where each person represents one thread, and then you throw a six-inch stone at the tapestry, and the threads repair themselves in their final position. That’s the effect of people without fate. 'Athena/Minerva/Arana, '''Goddess of Wisdom, Three-faced Goddess The Three-Faced Goddess actually has three personalites. Athena is the goddess of war and tactics, Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, and Arana is the goddess of medicine and healing. In some cultures, she is actually revered as the head of this pillar as opposed to Druthor, though the goddess herself is said to be humble, and would likely decline the position if it were offered. The three-faced goddess’ followers often devote themselves to one of her three aspects, and the three sects of her worship do sometimes come to blows, but it is never serious. The triple-faced goddess is also worshipped by the three witch clans, as she falls under their rule of three. Athena, as the war goddess is revered by the Glassnail clan; Minerva, as the goddess of wisdom is worshipped by the Oldseer clan; and Arana, as goddess of healing and medicine is worshipped by the Redcloaks. 'Uthor, 'God of Knowledge Depictions of Uthor are seldom the same, some showing him to be a wise old man that studies his tomes in a dusty library, while other depictions of him show a younger looking explorer type, learning what he can from other cultures as exploring history. As the god of knowledge, it is strange that his followers don’t have an accurate representation of him, but it is suggested that there is reason for it, being that Uthor wants his followers to know that they cannot know everything, they can only do their best to catalogue data and meticulously read through it, ironing out discrepancies as best they can. Uthor’s followers are normally patient with people and will always take the time to make sure that people are correct in what they are saying, though many of the higher ranking members in the religion make sure that none of the priests are pedantic, because being knowledgeable without being arrogant is their goal. 'Jhal, 'Goddess of Ambition Jhal is depicted as a beautiful, dark-haired young woman who has one clawed arm. While some see her as an evil goddess with no place in the hierarchy of the gods, her followers argue that she has the most place there, as without her, many would not hold the positions in society that they hold, and that fact is true also for the gods themselves. Without their ambition to rule, they would have remained slaves for eternity. While Jhal is not worshipped openly, many do pray to her in secret in order to climb the social ladder, and none would dare offend her, lest they fall back to the mud from which they rose. If they were to try and take her position as a goddess, however, she would likely be amused at the prospect before making sure they know their place. That is, a suitable title and land, depending on how hard they fought her. 'Kennar, 'God of Justice and Honour Kennar is the elder brother of Jhal, but that does not mean he approves of her power. While Jhal is the goddess of ambition, which involves getting power through whatever means necessary, Kennar’s aspect focuses on making sure that power goes to whoever deserves it the most. Where a corrupt king is sponsored by his sister, the bold hero that rises up to defeat him is almost certainly because of Kennar’s influence. As such, the two siblings are often maneuvering to outdo each other, but never out in the open, and normally through the influence of mortals. This seeps down into the worship of the two, as the church of Kennar will not directly fight the church of Jhal, but do attempt to root out corruption wherever they find it, as it is generally due to the worshippers of Jhal. Kennar’s agents always try to be fair, but never make a hasty decision, as if an innocent is killed, justice has not been served, needing more to offset the punishment of an innocent. 'Khaemis, 'God of Commerce Khaemis is the God of commerce lmao 'The Living Pillar Followers of the Living Pillar worship life and death in all forms. While they might grieve the loss of a loved one, they celebrate the death and their return to the earth, where they might be reborn again. The disruption of this cycle brings great sadness and rage to many who worship this Pillar, such as when a necromancer uses the souls of those who have died previously to reanimate the dead into unlife. 'Yarae,' Mother Goddess of Life and Nature As the head of the living pillar, Yarae has her work cut out for her. Managing the cycle of life and death is extremely taxing, especially when there are other gods whose aspects are entirely focused on disrupting this circle. As such, there are some sects of worship in Yarae’s name that focus on hunting down the undead and putting them to rest, but most focus on healing, medicine and midwifery, focusing on helping life into the world and keeping it in the world, taking the strain off their goddess. 'Dhaas,' God of Death Dhaas is surprisingly well received for a god of death. While Yarae focuses on life and Shadai focuses on keeping the dead, Dhaas focuses on the transition between the two. He ensures that those who have died reach their destination, be it the Nine Hells, the Celestial Heavens, the Abyss, the Feywild or Stygia. He also ferries souls from Shadai’s realm to Yarae to be reincarnated if needed. While he is certainly a daunting figure, his worship is not illegal, in fact normally having a small shrine with a handful of priests at least in each small town. Dhaas’ followers perform funeral rites for those that have died, ensuring that their god finds them and ferries them to the afterlife. In some cases, if a person has cheated death and remains alive, there will often be a priest of Dhaas sat on their doorstep until they die, knowing the soul should already be dead. 'Shadai,' Goddess of the Dead Worshippers of Shadai hate the undead over all things. They are an affront to everything their goddess holds dead and those who bring people back from the dead must be stopped at all costs. Shadai is worshipped in a similar manner to Dhaas, being that Shadai protects the souls of the dead after they have died. Out of the two, Shadai is seen as the more caring, as she supposedly pleas for every soul to be sent to her or reincarnated, rather sent to whichever realm Dhaas deems their deeds worthy of. Out of respect for her, Dhaas will send her many of the souls of those who have died without making much of an impact on those around them, but the mighty heroes go to the Heavens, and the worst sinners go elsewhere. There is a moral grey area that followers of Shadai do rarely encounter, and that is souls that have risen from the grave, but are not undead, still being very much alive. Some sects of worship will deem this a blessing, as Shadai has sent a soul back to the realm of the living, and other sects will do what they can to ensure that the soul is sent to their goddess as it should have done when it died. 'Aethel Ynn,' Goddess of Souls The goddess of souls is a tricky one, and one that many of the living pillar do not want to deal with. Her worshippers are few and far between given her niche aspect, but those who truly revere her are certainly powerful. Aethel Ynn, as the goddess of souls, gets to control the very core of a person while they are alive: their personality. When Yarae births life, that life requires a soul, creating which requires a magic only known by Aethel Ynn. While Yarae breathes life, Aethel Ynn determines who that life is and how they behave. While people are alive, she can bend their souls in an attempt to make them bitter or stronger, and when they are dead, she gets to chose their personality when they reincarnate, as she reshapes the soul to fit her whim. Aethel Ynn’s followers are often very proud of their worship but are often secretly performing sick experiments on peasants and “lower forms” of life, such as animals. 'Aeyr,' God of Youth As the god of youth, Aeyr is not often taken seriously by other religions, though none deny his importance in culture. When a child is born from Yarae, she moves on to the next child that needs birthing, so Aeyr steps in to care for the child and watch over them. When that child comes of age, Aeyr is like a babysitter seeing the child they cared for grown and independent, crying tears of joy while giving them a blessing on their life. Aeyr doesn’t have many followers but is widely revered as many families have coming-of-age celebrations when their children grow into adults. 'Irsaaq,' God of Seasons Irsaaq make weather boom boom 'The Magnificent Pillar' Followers of the Magnificent Pillar look for beauty in all aspects of life, or, if they cannot see it, try and find a way to make it better. Worshippers of this Pillar often try and recruit the most beautiful and charismatic into their orders, and they often become leaders. An alternate sect worship looks at this as a challenge to make everything in life the most beautiful as possible, though often the wizards and alchemists of this sect are seen as heretics for the attempts to create beauty through grotesque experimentation, such as flesh golems. 'Philina,' Goddess of Love and Fertility Followers of Philina always try to bring joy to all those around them, taking pleasure in seeing happy faces. Her church always goes that extra step during festivals, and they ensure that everyone has a good time. They will console those feeling down without hesitation and will comfort grieving families without being asked. People often view followers of Philina as naïve and perhaps stupid, but certainly don’t turn them away, and likely enjoy being around them. 'Alari,' Goddess of Lust, Lady of Desire While followers of Philina are a joy to be around because of their innocence, followers of Alari are often the exact opposite. They are often bitter and corrupt nobles who worship Alari in secret, and it is hinted that Alari works closely with Jhal. While in the Empire, Alari worship is tabooed, but elsewhere in the world, her worship is more open, such as in the white elf country of Aldarnesh. 'Erahnaboe,' God of Elegance Followers of Erahnaboe are seen as very haughty, but beautiful nonetheless. They ensure that they follow the latest fashions and that they are the most beautiful in the room. While most see them as pompous and arrogant, none of the high society can deny that they trhow a good party. 'Zethar,' God of Song While not worshipped in temples, Zethar certainly gets worshipped by many. Singing bawdy tavern songs and ancient epics alike both give reverence to the god of song. Followers of Zethar surprisingly work frequently with followers of Uthor, gathering information about legendary heroes about which they write their songs. Alene, Goddess of the Hearth Alene is another of the pillar of magnificence that isn’t worshipped in temples, more rather by the actions of the common folk. When people work as a family or community to ensure everyone is warm on a cold winter’s night, they give praise to Alene. When a community gathers to tell stories around a fire, they worship Alene. When cooks create new recipes, which spread throughout the culture, it is because of Alene. Any priests that Alene might have are often excellent cooks and architects. 'Inara,' Goddess of Tranquility Inara go "Ohhhmmmmmmmmm" like a monk 'The Sidereal Pillar' Followers of the Sidereal Pillar worship the natural cycle of day and night, as well as trying to read the future by reading the stars. Worshippers of the Sidereal Pillar often know arcane magic or strive to learn it. They feel that magic is the most natural thing in this world and is what powers everything. 'Krystaal,' Goddess of Magic and the Sidereal Heavens Krystaal, like her sister Yarae, is one of the most hardworking of the deities. While her sister creates life, Krystaal controls and regulates magic from mortals, ensuring that their potential never rises above set limits. As such, ancient spells that created and sundered continents no longer exist, and the empire residing on the island of Krystal are said to act in her name, though whether or not she has direct contact with them is unknown. Krystaal controls magic through her art, known as the Weave of Magic. She weaves its effects throughout the world, its presence waxing and waning in places, but mostly keeping it smooth, and without interference it stays this way. However, ambitious and powerful mages can gather the weave into a single space, tying it and knotting it so they can make more use of their magic, but this can have unforeseen effects. Such practices are heresy to priests of Krystaal, as they are abusing the power that she freely gives. While mages in the Empire might commonly fear the Inquisition, mages that attempt to recreate ancient spells that alter the weave of magic should fear the church of Krystaal more, as while they practice the arcane arts themselves, they specialise in hunting down those who abuse their mistress’s power. 'Aasillist,' God of the Sun Aasillist, god of the sun, displays his brilliance at all times, even during the dark hours of the night. While the sun is up, his temples of white stone shine bright, their stained-glass windows irradiating anything nearby. During the night, the windows and brilliant gemstones twinkle in the moonlight, promising a bright day when the sun rises. Followers of Aasillist often wear white, representing purity and truth, as nothing hides beneath the sun’s gaze. They are pursuers of truth, looking to call out lies and corruption and reveal to the world what corrupt things happen in the shadows. 'Pheraa, '''Goddess of the Night As much as the church of Aasillist would like people to believe, the church of Pheraa is not an evil one. In fact, Aasillist’s bias against them has made them a much more communal bunch who help those who must stick to the shadows to survive, such as orphans in a city, giving them food and a place to stay. At night, they have started to patrol the streets from the shadows, trying to protect anyone who would be hurt by those who are greedy. However, oppression from the church of Aasillist has led to some sects of the church of Pheraa to fight back, but as their church does not have the same respect as the church of Aasillist, these more aggressive priests are often executed as murderers and thieves. 'Aslanti, Goddess of the Moon Aslanti is often depicted as a grey-skinned elf who dances under the moonlight, basking in the freedom of its light, as the light of the moon illuminates so one can see, but is not as intense as the sun. Aslanti has very few established temples, but she is worshipped by exiles and outcasts, including many outcast drow. Followers of Aslanti work tirelessly to undermine the efforts of the goddess Juir, who coincidentally happens to be the goddess that the dark elves worship most highly. 'Ilena, '''Goddess of Chance, Lady Luck Lady Luck is a goddess most people find hard to worship, because in most games of chance, it’s one person pitted against another. True worshippers of Ilena know, however, that their goddess will not always help them, as she needs to remain impartial. However, in hard times, the Lady might give them a nudge, or something that remained hidden is suddenly hinted at, just enough so that the priest might survive in the jaws of defeat, and perhaps even find themselves somehow winning, despite impossible odds. In general, Ilena is impartial and will not necessarily help them, but when it comes down to it, she certainly has favourites. 'Sandanekar, 'Goddess of Dreams Sandanekar be the sandman haha 'The Stalwart Pillar Followers of the Stalwart Pillar look favourably upon the strong and the hard working. Their philosophies on life favour those who pursue projects with passion and throw all of their effort into it. Worshippers of this Pillar are often warriors or craftsmen, sometimes being both. Regardless of their profession, they are always working and enjoying what they are doing, and though a warrior might enjoy combat, they do not necessarily enjoy killing. 'Grimm, '''God of the Forge and Hard Work Grimm is the god most commonly worshipped by the dwarves, given that he is also a dwarven ancestor spirit. As he was crucial in holding back the forces of darkness as they threatened to overrun the world, Grimm supposedly sacrificed himself to save existence in its entirety, becoming a deity in the process. Followers of Grimm are usually proud to worship him and work hard in all aspects of life, their determination always getting them through any trouble. They are perhaps the only religion to not pass off miracles as the work of gods, more as the determination of mortals. 'Yldr,' God of War and Bloodshed Yldr, the northern god of war and bloodshed is a god that is worshipped primarily by soldiers. Followers of Yldr understand that they will not always have their god’s blessing, as both sides will be vying for his affection, so it is always best to give more and more offerings, so that the coming battle will turn out for the best for their side. Outside of a war, Yldr’s followers often lack purpose, so they volunteer their services as warpriests to mercenary gangs or militia, hoping to resolve conflict by causing it, revering Yldr as they do so. 'Alide, Goddess of Courage Alide is another of the gods worshipped by soldiers, but she also has temples for those less martially inclined to worship her, as courage is not always about facing your opponents in battle. Sometimes courage is about building up the nerve to talk to someone or having the confidence to speak out against a tyrannical government. While battlefield courage is important in the worship of Alide, it is these smaller acts of daily courage that Alide find most satisfying, and thus rewards the most. '''Sadaat, God of Blades The god of blades has a seemly niche aspect to be worshipped, and many who worship him might as well worship Yldr instead. But those who want to fight without the aggressiveness of Yldr’s teachings, without having to spill blood violently, might follow Sadaat instead. While the followers of Yldr are often bloodthirsty barbarians, the followers of Sadaat are calm and collected, often being elegant and merciful in their fighting style, being duelists perhaps. Followers of Sadaat value their opponent’s life, and while they want to triumph over it, they do not necessarily want to snuff it out. 'Eltienne,' Goddess of Endurance Eltienne, the elder sister of Alide, is yet another goddess empowered by small daily acts of her aspect. She rewards those who hold on to what they have, even if to some it is nothing at all. Eltienne cares for those who survive despite hardships thrown their way, those who, against all odds, seemly push through everything life has to offer. It is for this reason that the church of Eltienne gets along so well with the church of Grimm, both being about having hard work and determination as their core principles. 'Odis, '''God of Endings and Calibration Odis be a edgy boi. He control Calibration 'The Tumultuous Pillar' Followers of the Tumultuous Pillar are few and far between in civilisation, though in turbulent times, many will often prey to this Pillar and the gods within it. This Pillar represents the troubles in the world, and so worshippers of this Pillar are frowned upon as they carry the stigma that they bring trouble wherever they walk. This is not strictly true, however, as there are sects that worship troubles in the hope of preventing them from starting, as well as civilisation’s natural ability to survive regardless of the perils it faces. 'Juir, Goddess of Discord Juir, head of the tumultuous pillar, is also the primary deity worshipped by the dark elves and the white elves. She thrives on chaos and loves it when her followers cause it, be it overthrowing a monarchy or simply causing an argument between a father and son, she doesn’t care. To her, it’s fun. Her followers are often just as wicked and cruel as she is, and delight in causing tensions, sometimes even to their own detriment. Juir is often depicted as both an elven female and a giant black-eyed snake, representing her both her as an elegant ruler and a venomous creature. 'Olan, '''God of Storms and the Norse Wind Olan is revered by both sailors and residents of coastal towns and island settlements, for obvious reasons. The wrath that Olan can bring is terrible, and most would wish to avoid the powerful storms that Olan can command. His worshippers are often arrogant, believing Olan to be the most powerful of the gods, believing that it should be Olan, not Talos, that rules the gods. Despite this supposedly heretical school of thought, worship of Olan is not outlawed, simply out of fear of the destruction Olan would bring down in his rage. 'Lojain, 'God of the Sea As one of the more placid gods in the tumultuous pillar, Lojain is worshipped more freely by sailors and coastal towns, and people give offerings in return for safe passage across the seas. As the younger brother of Olan, some believe that Lojain has some sway over his brother’s wrath and can calm him if need be. Followers of Lojain rarely stray from seaside towns or ships, wanting to stay close to the aspect that suits their lord the most. 'Yr Khathal, 'God of the Hunt The god of the hunt is certainly not a god to be trifled with. What his following lacks in numbers, they make up with fanaticism. Yr Khathal is about the hunt, but not necessarily just man hunting beast. Man hunting man, beast hunting man, man hunting woman, it makes no odds to Yr Khathal. As such, worship of Yr Khathal is all but banned in civilised areas, given the bestial behaviours his worship encourages. Some soldiers might secretly pray to Yr Khathal before a battle to ensure they can ruthlessly cut down their foes – as long as they make it interesting for the god. Yr Khathal’s followers vary with their profession, be it a simple huntsman hunting for food or an alley assassin hunting their target, it is all the same to their smirking god. 'Telari, Goddess of Undeath Telari is a goddess whose worship is completely outlawed in the Empire, given Telari’s conflicts with the other gods in the living pillar. Her followers are almost always powerful necromancers and are certainly a force to be trifled with. Telari enjoys denying souls rite of passage into the afterlife, instead forcing them to walk the earth again, mindless and aimless, supporting the goals of her followers. It is said that somehow, either through a bargain with Aethel Ynn – who would have made such a deal through boredom – or by using some black magic, has found a way to syphon souls away from Aethel Ynn, Dhaas and Shadai, and she gives them to her followers for her amusement. Her interest peaks, however, when one of her followers manages to immerse themselves in worship to her by becoming undead themselves, normally as a vampire or a lich. When they do so, she almost fanatically grants them as much power as she can offer, letting them bring ruin to the living world and ruling as they see fit. '''Natalia, '''Goddess of Concord Natalia is a rather new goddess that very little is known about, and I sure hope some other scholar with more knowledge than I (*cough* Tayto *cough*) will come along and amend this section at some point.